We have fresh brood in all four hives now (so active queens) and P has installed a proper base in the latest swarm hive so it is now an independent hive. This brings our total to 12. If we can split three of them we will have 15 which means next year we can claim an EU subsidy (approx 15€ for each hive) unless they move the goalposts (which is what happened with the sheep!)

Sugar is 85 cents/kilo in Prisma. That's a good price (we paid 1,05€ last summer) so we ought to buy up a load (approx 300 kgs) for the autumn as they will need to be fed after we harvest the honey.